LEBANON — The city’s all-blue police cruisers are being phased out over the next month with newly designed blue-and-white models.

Police Chief M. James Alexander said he is making the announcement to prevent confusion for residents familiar with the all-blue vehicles.

“It may be confusing and we want to let them know why,” he said.

“They are so drastically different than what we have now. We just want to let people know that these are our police cruisers.”

The two-tone look is a throwback to the department’s past, Alexander said.

“It’s a little bit of a retro feel to it,” he said.

“In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, we had two tones. We had blue and silver.”

Many municipal departments have black-and-white cruisers, but as a nod to the city’s past, Alexander said he decided to keep the blue and add white doors.

“I really like the municipal two-tone look. I think people identify the look with the municipal police departments … and community policing,” Alexander said.

“We thought the blue and white was a good way to get the municipal feel back and call a little attention to our past.”

Police also believe the cruisers will be highly visible and easily identified at a glance as a police car.

All of the department’s marked cruisers should be pre-painted within a month, he said.

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